Having driven my 06 A4 for a number of weeks now, I am in love with the car. I have absolutely no buyers remorse and ride each day in absolute comfort. With all the hype surrounding the new A4, I wanted to transport myself back to the era of which the B7 was all the rage. I began by digging up every old article I could about the B7, from sneak peaks, to initial test drives, to reader comments, pretty much anything I could find.

To my surprise, the design was hated. At first glance, many thought the front grill was downright ugly, and that the back looked "too japanese". Many dismissed this generation A4 as not a true successor to the B6 citing only 'minor' upgrades. Come to think of it, when I first saw the B7 A4, I now remember being taken back a bit and thinking that Audi had missed the mark on design.

As the time line of articles moved forward, and I began to read actual test drives, reviews and opinions had begun to shift to a more positive light. The new engine, suspension, lighting, etc. all began to prove that the B7 truly was a huge step above from previous generations. The car started winning a ton of awards including engine of the year, most fuel efficient compact luxury sedan, best interior, and more. And, like it has on me (I think?), the design started to grow on people, that by the time the titanium package was released stateside, people started praising the A4 for its looks.

At the end of my 'research', I began to feel much better about my purchase. It truly is a great thing to read other people in agreement to what you've been feeling for the past couple of weeks.

As far as design goes, the jury is still out on whether it actually started to grow on me, or whether one man and his designs had elevated the Audi to the best looking vehicle in its class. That man being Chris Bangle.

/rant

 

I agree with the B7 being a superior design, but I was under the impression Chris Bangle was with BMW...

Am I wrong?

 

Yea Bangle is the chief BMW designer who is credited with the "Bangle Butt" on the new BMW models. Some like it some hate it.

As for Audi, the current chief if memory serves correctly is Walter de'Silva however the B7 probably had some influence from Peter Schreyer who I think has since moved on to Kia...

 

Yes, Chris Bangle is the BMW chief design. The reason I name dropped him is because I'm not too sure if the automotive press grew to love the B7 Design overtime, or because of Bangle, they learned to hate BMW's design. In the competitive landscape 3-series vs. A4, Chris Bangle did wonders for the visual appeal of Audi by sabotaging a once very sexy brand (BMW).

Although the 3 series coupe is very nice, the world is still waiting for the 3 series sedan, the 5 series, the 7 series and to an extent, the 6 series to grow on them. Even after all of these years...

 

^ thats very true... those cars need some adjusting to to be able to carry on the BMW name...

 

QFT they don't scream BMW the way they once did, at least to me anyway

 

yeah... i remember the M6's from the 80s (the sharks) those were nice...